The [American] football experience.

Yay for football shirts!

The SuperBowl is a big thing back home (duhhhh). In fact, American football is a big thing in general; it’s like Europe’s rugby or actual football obsession. We are obsessed with our football, and basketball at that.

So, the SuperBowl came around about a week ago, and I wanted to watch it – not that I’ve been following football this year because the time difference means the games start really late here and I usually have class really early. Anyhow, I decided I was going to watch it, whether or not we had class. Due to luck, really, our Professor was still sick and cancelled Monday class, so I really was going to watch it and not worry about it.

I wanted to watch it with friends, and I don’t really have American friends – the one American I was friendly with went back home in December, but some of my European/UK friends were keen. First, we were going to go to Herriot-Watt’s student union to watch it, but then we decided we’d just watch it on Ducky’s TV in his student halls as he had a TV and we wouldn’t have to trek far out for it.

First, Fenna and Fran and I had some dinner and [potato] chips (not, fries) and then headed over. We had some drinks (including someone’s non-alcoholic beer that tasted really gross), and tuned into BBC to watch it.
I had worn the only football shirt I have, which is an old homecoming one, but my friends all appreciated the effort: “Aw, that’s cool you are wearing a football shirt.” “Look at you, wearing your football shirt.” …etc.

So, they opened with some songs and the questions began. Never have I realized how it is watching something with people who never watch it, more or less how much I really knew about football than I did watching this game. It started with the singers…
Who is that? Miranda Lambert
Who is she? A country singer.
Who is that? Kelly Clarkson.
What is this? Our national anthem.
Why aren’t you standing? ….

Then the game began. Of course, I was watching it intently while being peppered with questions.
Why are they stopping already?
What’s the purpose of a down?
There are four of them?
This is boring. You guys find this exciting? yes.

And I learned that:
You may be excited, but they won’t understand why.
Sometimes, growing up on something makes all the difference.
Our refs call penalties dramatically. (Why did it throw up the flag like that? What are those hand moves, is he dancing?)
I know way more about calls than I remember.
There are no commercials in the UK. Therefore, one of the better parts was lost on them.
In the end, they may have enjoyed it, but still don’t quite understand why we love it so much.

It’s okay. I still had fun watching it, and didn’t mind explaining it. Plus, NY won. And I’m always proud of NY.

Burns night.

I interrupt my catch-up on last semester to bring you a brief post on Burns night.

Three-ish weeks ago, some of my classmates and I celebrated Burns night.

Burns night is typically on January 25, celebrating the famous Scottish poet, Robert Burns.

However, because we’re cool, we celebrated the day after.
The dinner usually consists of haggis (“kind of savoury pudding containing sheep‘s ‘pluck’ (heart, liver and lungs), minced with onion, oatmeal, suet, spices, and salt, mixed with stock, and traditionally encased in the animal’s stomach and simmered for approximately three hours. Most modern commercial haggis is prepared in a casing rather than an actual stomach.” (thanks, Wiki), whiskey and a reading of his poem, Ode to a Haggis.

During this night, we also played some rockband while everything was cooking, and it very much brought me back to sophomore year, and the obsession back then in Roth. (Yes, I sang Maps again)

Some pretty Rockband faces.

Rockband!

Notice how it’s kind of the same, except then it was always with dudes:

Back in Spring ’08, some rockband in good old Whitman.

More Spring ’08 Rockband in Whitman; this is one of my all time favs.

d’aw.

Then we got down to dinner, including haggis and whisky, which is a must for a true Scottish experience, and I was surprised to find that I liked it! We also had vegetarian haggis as well, which is also delicious!

Haggis, etc. with Evelyn’s awesome whisky sauce!

all the food.

Needless to say, even after we all ate and had seconds, there was loads left and we were stuffed.
Mmm.
Then we enjoyed some of the leftover haggis a few days later while watching some movies.